Engine hard to shift when cold

happened to me when i had the SI..i think it's normal

i think it's your tranny under wear, and when it gets cold..it's not as smooth..
usually i warm up the engine for bout 2-3 minutes, then i leave the handbrake and shift through all the gears before i go..then it doesn't grind or anything after

hard to shift when cold

i was just wondering if it's only me or you guys with manual tranny experience this also. i have a 03 w/manual tranny. when the car was brand new, it shifts fine whether the engine is hot or cold/summer or winter. after about a year of use, i noticed that during winter season - i have to be careful when shifting when the engine is cold. if i dont take it easy, it would grind or feel like it's tough to get it into 2nd. once the engine is all warmed up, everything is smooth.

i've driven other cars with manual tranny and it seems like they are the same as well, when the engine is cold. would synthetic tranny fluid help?

I think you should bring back your car to toyota for warranty or something to check whats the problem b/c i think thats a defect.

Yeah, I second that. Don't know about draining the fluid. Spec is to fill it until fluid starts draining out the fill hole on the side of the tranny - which is right at 2L.

Also happens because there's no fluid pump. The lubricant just kind of has to be slung around before it can lubricate all the gears - and that takes a while.

Trav

ya i couldnt figure out the draining fluid part. cant figure out how that would help make shifting smoother.

I've noticed it other manuals I've driven.

I switched to Amsoil's Long Life Synthetic 75W-90 Gear Lube
at 3600 Kms and felt a great improvement, especially down to -50*F...
http://www.amsoil.com/products/fgr.htm
Installing Energy Suspension's motor mount inserts helped stabilize the powertrain for more precise shifts. My ASP aluminum 15% underdrive crank pulley improved shifting greatly by allowing RPM's to drop more readily.
Worn tires cause spinning and poor gear synchronization.
You could also try bleading your clutch's slave cylinder. (fitting in front, just below starter)

I have noticed hard shifting, but NOT grinding. I have an 03 5-speed as well. On mine, it shifted smooth regardless of temperature, but now I have to push with a LOT of force to get it to go into 1st if the car is moving, even barely rolling. That is a change from brand new and it concerns me somewhat.

2nd gear grinds only when I go into that gear at any speed over 50mph, unless I rev-match which I do all the time now.

Anyhow - I WOULD take it back to the dealer. Perhaps a fluid change would help/cure it. I've used Mobil 1 synthetic 75W-90 on mine since 15,000 miles (got 50,000 now). I keep meaning to change over to Redline MT-90 to see if that would help. It's GL-4, which isn't as corrosive as the GL-5 (which is mostly the only thing you'll find, including Mobil 1).

Late,
Trav

my mistake, i shouldn't have said it grinds. it doesn't grind, just harder to get into 2nd when it's cold. feels kinda stiff throughout all gears when cold.
friend of mine told me last night that it helps if you take out about half a litre of fluid, just make sure that you are still within specs. he said he's done it for 2 cars now and they both shift smoothly (when cold) after he drained about half a litre of fluid. he also told me that this problem is normal and in some cars, u can feel it more than in others. he said that it's coz fluid is thick when cold and thus, the hard shifting problem. as soon as the engine warms up, fluid thins out and the problem disappears.

i also noticed that honda manual trannies don't seem to have this problem. i've driven quite a few honda/acura with manual tranny with cold engines and they shift normally.

i think this happins on all manual cars after a year or so.. its normal not a defect

I changed my 03 Corolla S over to Redline in the tranny. It fixed all my cold shifting problems.

was it really bad for u before you changed to redline? i imagine you need to warm up really long coz of the cold weather in NS. Did you change the fluid yourself? just drain and fill up again?

Shifting was poor when cold. I took it to a local speed shop. They changed it for me.

when cold Oil gets thicker, adding such think oil in between the gears will cause it to seem hard to shift until it gets warmed up and thins out, it's just cuz of the viscosity of the gear lube